Curriculum Toolkit
The Illinois Civics Hub Curriculum Toolkits provide tools for civics education aligned to state instructional mandates.
Civil, Brave and Reflective Classrooms
Students must feel safe and secure in the learning environment. Student voices should be included in establishing and maintaining expectations.
Current and Societal Issue Discussions
Facilitating student-to-student discussion provides students an opportunity to deliberate essential questions facing their community.
Direct Instruction on Democratic Institutions
Formal instruction in civics and government, history, economics, geography, law, and democracy increases young people’s tendency to engage in civic and political activities over the long term.
Service Learning
Informed action through service learning allows students to apply academic learning to real-world problems that are important to them. Service-learning differs from community service or volunteerism in that the action is informed by the curriculum.
Simulations of Democratic Processes
Simulations of democratic processes allow students to "do civics" in a safe environment to learn and practice knowledge skills and dispositions.
Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History (T.E.A.A.C.H. Act)
Our Civic Learning Partners at Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) are hosting several professional learning opportunities for Illinois educators to become familiar with the TEAACH Act. AAAJ has also curated resources for K-12 implementation.
Inclusive Curriculum Toolkit
HB 0246 amends the U.S. History requirement of the Illinois School Code to read, In public schools only, the teaching of history shall include a study of the roles and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in the history of this country and this state. The Inclusive Curriculum Law, signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on Aug. 9, 2019, mandates that by the time students finish eighth grade, public schools must teach them about contributions to state and U.S. history made by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Illinois Civics.org has curated many resources to help educators meet the Inclusive Curriculum Law.
Media Literacy Toolkit
IL House Bill 234 amended the school code by adding a provision that, beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public high school must include a unit of instruction on media literacy in its curriculum. It additionally sets forth what topics the unit of instruction shall include and provides that the State Board of Education shall determine how to prepare and make available instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used to develop the unit of instruction. (Sponsors included: Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez [D], Rep. Stephanie A. Kifowit [D], and Rep. Janet Yang Rohr [D].) Our Media Literacy Toolkit provides classrooms with tools to help students consume and produce information wisely.